As you can see we’ve been busy.*
We have always written this Blog for our own amusement.We hope others will read the posts and be entertained and maybe educated).
Our pics and vids are posted (copyright 2010-2017 JoshWillTravel) for your visual stimulation and to better tell the stories. All other images (photos and youtube videos, etc.) are for educational purposes only and not used for any commercial gain.
*There is a lot of NEW and FUN stuff!ENJOY!

Procrastination (noun)
-the action of delaying or postponing something
-the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished
-the practice of doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones
-carrying out less urgent tasks instead of more urgent ones
-putting off impending tasks to a later time

In 1927, Paramount Studios purchased a 2,700-acre ranch on Medea Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains, It is now the Paramount Ranch Park and part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Exit at Kanan Rd off the 101 freeway, go west past Agoura Rd, make a left on Cornell Rd and follow it to the Paramount Ranch park entrance. Admission is FREE, Parking is FREE.

NOTE: You may experience heavy traffic at the Kanan Rd exit on weekend “Beach Days” or if there is an event at one of the wineries or during rush hour traffic periods. Plan Ahead!
(And the Banjo & Fiddle Festival and other events are still held at the Paramount Ranch)

Kanan Road and Cornell Road (copyright 2013 JoshWillTravel)

As you approach the Paramount Ranch Park entrance, after you pass the Fire Station, you will enjoy a great view of the park’s landscape and the old racetrack from Cornell Rd.

Paramount Ranch – Parking Lot (Phredd’s Meadow) from Cornell Road

The Paramount Ranch Racetrack

In 1956, the owner of Paramount Ranch decided to build a road-racing facility. He approached Ken Miles and Dick Van Laanen to design the road course. They designed a paved road course nearly 2 miles in length. The road course included 11 turns with uphill and downhill sections, a straightaway just shy of ¾ mile, a bridge and underpass as well as a lake opposite the start/finish line. Most of the drivers were weekend racers and the lack of safety features along with dangerous curves were more risk than they were willing to take for a hobby. The racetrack was a two mile figure eight course with a bridge between turns 3 and 4. The racetrack pits and grandstand were located on the current parking lot. Bob Bondurant described the course as “unforgiving but a real challenge”. A total of seven races were held at Paramount Ranch. Five events were sponsored by the California Sports Car Club (CSCC) and two by the United States Auto Club (USAC). After several drivers were killed on the track (3 on the same day) it was closed in 1957.

Paramount Ranch – Racetrack and the Old Parking Lot

Paramount Ranch – Racetrack and the Old Parking Lot

Paramount Ranch – Racetrack and the Old Parking Lot

The National Park Service maintains the entire ranch including the racetrack as a historic site. Very little remains of the racetrack as of 2015, the bridge still remains however it has been blocked off so vehicles cannot drive over it and the road underneath the bridge is overgrown with trees and shrubs. Home construction on the neighboring hillsides has caused water runoff erosion that destroyed the original layout and terrain of the land. Much of the road is no longer there. There is some sentiment among park rangers to repair the circuit and return the track to its former glory, but there are no plans in the foreseeable future. The Paramount Ranch Racetrack is featured in several movies filmed in the 1950’s and 1960’s: “Road Racers” (1959), “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini” (1965), “Devil’s Hairpin” (1957), “Spin Out” with Elvis Presley (1965), “Munster Go Home” (1966), “The Love Bug” (1968) and “Herbie Rides Again” (1974).

Paramount Ranch – Next Right

Enter the Paramount Ranch Park from Cornell Rd,
turn left at the bottom of the main entrance and park near the Ranger Station.

Paramount Ranch Park Entrance – “Top O’ the Main”

The park is open 8am to Sunset everyday! Take a tour of Western Town, visit the Western Town Meadow and then enter the park proper and the hiking trails on the other side.

Paramount Ranch – Western Town: Open 8am to Sunset

Western Town! Read the previous Blog:“Return to Paramount Ranch – Agoura, California: Part 1 Western Town” to see more pics>RIGHT CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND “OPEN IN NEW WINDOW” TO VIEW!

Late Dinner at Frank & Teressa’s Anchor Bar at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas

We were hungry on Thursday night, but didn’t want to eat at a big buffet or an expensive restaurant. My traveling companion wanted to try the new Frank & Teressa’s Anchor Bar Las Vegas Original Buffalo Wings. And I was okay with that.

FOOD COURT!

Food Court at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas

Frank & Teressa’s Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wings!

Frank & Teressa’s Anchor Bar at The Venetian Hotel

Single order – spicy boneless Buffalo wings with celery, carrots and ranch dressing

Food was good. These were good Buffalo wings and very similar to WingStop. They have different levels of “HOT” from regular to suicide…which are really too hot to enjoy. They were overpriced for spiced fried chicken nuggets, a few vegetables and some dressing.

I got a drink at the Panda Express, but all the vendors in the Venetian food court only have Pepsi products and NO COKE. We sat at a table and enjoyed our food, and since I couldn’t eat it all we got a “to go” box and took the leftovers up to the room.

Feeling grateful as I look at old photographs. Remembering the many trips and vacations I was fortunate to take and the wonderful places I visited growing up. Here are just a few:

First time at Disneyland! In the Dome of the Monorail with cousin Danny 1970

Every year, Grandma would take all the grandkids to Anaheim for 2 days at Disneyland and a night at the Disneyland Hotel. Grandma also took me on many trips: Glacier National Park, Montana, Niagara Falls, Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton and all across Canada, London and Scotland. And of course Chicago and New York City:

New York City and Liberty Island with Grandma!

I also traveled a lot with my family. Vacations to New York, Washington D.C., Virginia and Philadelphia in 1976 during the nation’s Bicentennial; Hawaii, Big Sur, Yosemite and Sequoia national parks, Lake Tahoe and northern California, San Diego, the Grand Canyon and “Four Corners”, Chicago, Kenosha, a very weird Thanksgiving in Arizona, Mammoth, Palm Springs (where my Grandparents retired), Park City, Utah and even Las Vegas.

Skeet shooting at the Greenhorn Ranch in Northern California!

Scuba diving in Kona on the Big Island Hawaii!

Hiking in Big Sur, California 1975

Camping in Yosemite & Sequoia National Parks

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” ~ Mark Twain

I posted a photo album from my recent visit to the Paramount Ranch on facebook and added a map with locations from the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in the 1980’s. A couple requests were made for a higher resolution pic, so here it is. I labeled it from memory and “best guess”, and the labels on the map are in the general vicinity unless there was an actual landmark.

Take the long road home on the Piilani highway around the southeast side of Maui and visit the Palapalo Ho’omau Church where Charles Lindbergh is buried before heading back to central or west Maui.

Magical Maui – Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)

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Q: Reasonably priced, laid-back accommodations on Maui?

Lahaina Sunset – Maui, Hawaii (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)

A: I recommend the Makena Beach & Golf Resort in Wailea-Makena on Maui!

*****No resort fees! Free internet and parking!*****

From their website:

The Makena Beach & Golf Resort features over 330 sunshine filled days for uninterrupted fun in the sun! From kayaking and canoe paddling to beachfront yoga and ukulele lessons, Makena offers the best of Maui activities without ever having to leave the Wailea-Makena area.

LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR, TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE WRITER/BLOGGER

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